jamesbiz
11-12-2008, 11:32 AM
For some reason I had the bright idea to start a motor mount install project at 9pm last night when I knew I had to be up at 5am today. Glad I've got a good friend at a local shop that was willing to help out on this install so it didn't turn into a much longer project than what it did. If you stumble across this thread Dave, thanks again. :thumbs:
Anyway, on to the good stuff. The install of the motor mounts itself was pretty easy for the most part since we had access to the right tools. A couple 3/8" extensions, a swivel head socket, and a torque wrench are all necessary for this install to go smoothly.
Here's a comparison of the stock motor mount against the Lovells.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00908.jpg
First, we removed the nut on the bottom stud of the factory motor mount(s).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00907.jpg
Next, we removed the nut from the top stud of the factory motor mount(s). This is where the extensions and swivel socket comes into play. ;)
Passenger side:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00903.jpg
Driver's side:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00906.jpg
Raise the motor up with a floor jack, using some wood to disperse the focal point of the weight on the oil pan. Then find a good way to wiggle the stock mounts out of their locations.
Passenger side mount, showing some room for removal:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00898.jpg
Driver's side mount, showing the lack there of.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00901.jpg
I didn't take any more pictures after we got all the stock stuff out. Basically you just make sure you torque down the nuts and the bolt that goes through the center of the Lovells mount to 30ft/lbs. Also, make sure that the female end of the mount sits closest to the engine. Since the engine side is aluminum, it needs the larger surface to lower the risk of it cracking. The engine cradle is steel, so it doesn't need as much surface area to mate up against.
The only thing that made this install a real pain in the arse was the fact that the procharger crank pulley, on my car, sits close enough to the fans that we couldn't really jack the motor up high enough without running a risk of damaging something. We had to pull the fans, which involves removing some other stuff as well. This turned an hour job into about a two hour job, most of which was finesse work to make sure we didn't hurt anything while removing the fans, piping, etc. If we weren't socializing and looking at some other stuff in the shop while I was there, we could've been done in less than an hour and a half. On an N/A car it could've been done in 30-45 minutes.
Driving impressions:
Initial driving impressions are great! If I tap the gas now, the car actually surges forward opposed to the old feeling of the car just starting to move at a little quicker pace. My shifter barely moves now, which is also a nice added benefit.
You CAN feel more vibrations in the car. However, with a stock cam (which I have) in my car, there is very minimal vibration in my opinion. It doesn't feel like a racecar to me, but it also doesn't feel like a cadillac anymore. No rattles on the initial 15 minute drive except for a very slight rattle from the dual gauge pod on the dash, and even that quit after a couple minutes.
Hopefully this helps somebody, I couldn't find much on these things when I searched before making my purchase.
7/28/08 Update:
No real changes in my initial opinions. The vibrations have not increased or decreased, and none of my passengers have commented on their own about the vibration in the car. After I asked if they noticed anything, a couple people did comment that they could feel something a little different when I started the car, but other than that they didn't really feel anything different from a previous ride.
And on a side note, this also cured a header rub issue on my steering rack during hard right turns. I can now take 25mph corners (off-ramps) at 60mph again with no issues.
Anyway, on to the good stuff. The install of the motor mounts itself was pretty easy for the most part since we had access to the right tools. A couple 3/8" extensions, a swivel head socket, and a torque wrench are all necessary for this install to go smoothly.
Here's a comparison of the stock motor mount against the Lovells.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00908.jpg
First, we removed the nut on the bottom stud of the factory motor mount(s).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00907.jpg
Next, we removed the nut from the top stud of the factory motor mount(s). This is where the extensions and swivel socket comes into play. ;)
Passenger side:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00903.jpg
Driver's side:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00906.jpg
Raise the motor up with a floor jack, using some wood to disperse the focal point of the weight on the oil pan. Then find a good way to wiggle the stock mounts out of their locations.
Passenger side mount, showing some room for removal:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00898.jpg
Driver's side mount, showing the lack there of.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v622/SMOKINV8/GT O/DSC00901.jpg
I didn't take any more pictures after we got all the stock stuff out. Basically you just make sure you torque down the nuts and the bolt that goes through the center of the Lovells mount to 30ft/lbs. Also, make sure that the female end of the mount sits closest to the engine. Since the engine side is aluminum, it needs the larger surface to lower the risk of it cracking. The engine cradle is steel, so it doesn't need as much surface area to mate up against.
The only thing that made this install a real pain in the arse was the fact that the procharger crank pulley, on my car, sits close enough to the fans that we couldn't really jack the motor up high enough without running a risk of damaging something. We had to pull the fans, which involves removing some other stuff as well. This turned an hour job into about a two hour job, most of which was finesse work to make sure we didn't hurt anything while removing the fans, piping, etc. If we weren't socializing and looking at some other stuff in the shop while I was there, we could've been done in less than an hour and a half. On an N/A car it could've been done in 30-45 minutes.
Driving impressions:
Initial driving impressions are great! If I tap the gas now, the car actually surges forward opposed to the old feeling of the car just starting to move at a little quicker pace. My shifter barely moves now, which is also a nice added benefit.
You CAN feel more vibrations in the car. However, with a stock cam (which I have) in my car, there is very minimal vibration in my opinion. It doesn't feel like a racecar to me, but it also doesn't feel like a cadillac anymore. No rattles on the initial 15 minute drive except for a very slight rattle from the dual gauge pod on the dash, and even that quit after a couple minutes.
Hopefully this helps somebody, I couldn't find much on these things when I searched before making my purchase.
7/28/08 Update:
No real changes in my initial opinions. The vibrations have not increased or decreased, and none of my passengers have commented on their own about the vibration in the car. After I asked if they noticed anything, a couple people did comment that they could feel something a little different when I started the car, but other than that they didn't really feel anything different from a previous ride.
And on a side note, this also cured a header rub issue on my steering rack during hard right turns. I can now take 25mph corners (off-ramps) at 60mph again with no issues.